A very large majority of Americans oppose raising the debt ceiling, according to polling done for The Hill:
Seventy-seven percent of likely GOP voters and 64 percent of independent voters said they don't want the debt ceiling to be raised. Even among Democrats, more oppose raising the ceiling (46 percent) than support it (42 percent).
Winning the congressional vote to raise the debt ceiling is a crucial test for the president. House and Senate Republicans are using the vote, which must take place soon, in an effort to secure deep spending cuts from the White House.
On the whole, only 27 percent of likely voters favor raising the debt ceiling, while 62 percent oppose it. For what it's worth, I'm not sure that these numbers actually mean anything. Setting aside issues of accuracy, how many voters could explain the debt ceiling or the implications of leaving it static? This survey says less about the wisdom of raising the debt ceiling, and more about the transmission of information, and how the public understands policy issues. In this case, a few things are true.
First, voters take their cues from political elites. Democrats and Republicans are politically divided on whether to raise the debt ceiling, and as such, the public is divided. What's more, voters understand the debt as a moral issue -- thanks to three decades of rhetoric from both parties -- and think of debt in terms of individual finances; if the government is running a large debt, then something must be wrong, even if "debt" is something very different for a large national economy.
Put another way, this is only an issue because debt alarmism is in vogue. If it weren't -- as was the case during the last administration -- then voters wouldn't have much to say (either way) about raising ceiling.
